The U.S. Army awarded Raytheon [RTN] a $2.3 billion contract on Jan. 30 for engineering services to support the Patriot missile defense systems to support software and refresh obsolescence in both U.S. and partner international systems.This hybrid cost-plus-fixed-fee, firm-fixed-price and level-of-effort contract will divide work locations and funding based on individual orders. The total work is expected…

A Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and Navy test intercept of a Raytheon [RTN] Standard Missile(SM)-3 Block IIA from Hawaii reportedly missed its target on Jan. 31, according to a report from CNN.The MDA was unwilling to speak to the test result when reached for comment, but did confirm the test occurred this morning.“The Missile Defense Agency and U.S.…

The U.S. Air Force released a final request for proposals Jan. 31 to launch five Air Force and National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) spacecraft in the early 2020s.According to the Air Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) in California, which announced the RFP, the solicitation includes the fiscal year 2021 launches of two Air Force…

The center booster that SpaceX used in Falcon Heavy’s first flight test late Feb. 6 failed to land on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean as planned, according to company founder Elon Musk.The booster, or core, ran out of propellant used to slow its descent to Earth, causing it to slam into the water at a…